Bowling alley bridge



' March 18, 1958 c. F. PRUESS, SR 2,326,771

BOWLING ALLEY BRIDGE Filed Aug. 25, 1954 United States Patent 2,826,771 Patented Mar. '18, 1958 fiice BOWLING ALLEY BRlDGE Clarence F. Pruess, Sr., Grants Pass, Greg.

Application August 25, 1954, Serial No. 452,165

1 Claim. (CI. 14-72) This invention relates to the class of sporting equipment and more particularly to a novel bowling alley bridge adapted to be used in conjunction with bowling alleys.

The primary object of the present invention resides in the provision of a bowling alley bridge which will enable comparatively large and heavy machines, such as those used for sanding and bufiing bowling alleys, to be moved from one alley to another in a simple and convenient manner.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a bowling alley bridge which is adapted to span the bowling alley well between the spaced gutters of a pair of adjacent bowling alleys so that suitable equipment such as sanders, resurfacers and bufiers may be moved from alley to alley over the bridge in a convenient manner.

The construction of this invention-features an arcuate plate having downwardly supporting legs for engagement within the gutters of the adjacent alleys and an adjustable stand for support of the bridge by engagement with the surface of the ball return well. The plate may be made of any suitable material, such as steel, plastics or the like, and is adapted to support the weight of a comparatively heavy machine.

Still further objects and features of this invention reside in the provision of a bowling alley bridge that is simple in construction, easily carried from one location to another, and which will substantially reduce the time necessary for sanding, resurfacing, or butting a series of bowling alleys by enabling the machine to be readily moved from one alley to another.

These, together with various ancillary objects and features of the invention which will become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by this bowling alley bridge, a preferred embodiment of which has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings, by way of example only, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the bowling alley bridge comprising the present invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of a pair of bowling alleys illustrating the bridge operatively installed;

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view as taken along the plane of line 3-3 in Figure 1 illustrating the construction of one of the support standards; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view as taken along the plane of line 4-4 in Figure 2 illustrating in detail the construction of the support legs.

With continuing reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views, the reference numeral 10 generally designates the' bowling alley bridge comprising the present invention which is adapted to be associated with adjacent bowling alleys 12 and 14 provided with the conventional gutters as at 16 and 18 therebetween and a raised bowling ball return well 20 between the gutters 16 and 18. The bridge 10 is adapted to be positioned so that a sander, butter, or other .suitable and comparatively heavyequipment can be movedfrom the alley 12 to the jalleyi14, or vice versa, -wi'thout the ditficultyusually present in moving themachine past the gutters 16 and 18 and the wall 20.

The bowling alley bridge 10 consists of an arcuate, upwardly convex plate 22 of any suitable material such as plastics or metal which has a pair of substantially rectangular legs 24 and 26 attached thereto. Each of the legs is of substantially the same configuration as can be seen best in Figure 4 and are generally rectangular in shape and formed from suitable tubular stock or solid cylindrical stock as may be desired. Bolts or other suitable fasteners, as at 28, are utilized to secure the legs 24 and 26 to the plate 22. The legs are disposed medial the ends of said plate 22 and the'center thereof.

A covering of rubber, fiber, or other suitable resilient material formed of slit tubular stock is secured to the ends of the plate 22 as at 25. Further, the sides of the bridge may be suitably ribbed as at 27, which adds to the strength of the bridge.

Substantially U-shaped resilient protective devices 30 formed of rubber or other suitable material are positioned on the legs 24 and 26 by any convenient means, or by suitably coating the protective member onto the legs 24 and 26 or slitting the protective members 30 before positioning the protective members on the legs. The legs 24 and 26 are adapted to seat in the lower surfaces of the gutters 16 and 18 and in order to further support the bridge plate 22, there are provided vertically adjustable standards 32, each of which consists of a bolt 34 having the head 36 thereof countersunk in a recess 38 in the central portion of the plate 22. Further, the standards 32 consist of nuts 40 which are threadedly secured on the bolts 34 and internally threaded base members 42 which are coated, as at 44, or covered by a suitably resilient material so that the standards 32 may be utilized for engagement with the ball return well 20. tudinally extending slot 46 may be provided in the plate 22 through which a bolt 48 may extend for adjustment of an engaging block 50 used to engage the side of the gutter to hold the bridge to the gutter side of the ball return 2% and to thus prevent the bridge from slipping during use. This provides adequate support for the plate 22 and assures that a comparatively heavy machine or the like may be easily moved from one alley to another.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

A bowling alley bridge comprising a plate, downwardly extending support legs attached to said plate medial the ends of said plate and the center thereof, and at least one vertically adjustable standard depending from the center portion of said plate, said standard having a resilient covering, said plate being upwardly convex, said support legs being of a substantially open rectangular shape of cylindrical cross-section having upper and lower portions interconnected by spaced side portions, said upper portions being each fastened to said plate, said lower portions being adapted for engagement in a bowling ball return alley, a resilient covering of U-shape over said lower portions thereof, the end edges of said plate having resilient protective shields secured thereto, said plate having a longitudinally extending slot therein, a stop block,

A longi- UNITED STATES PATENTS 333,310 Kurz Dec. 29, 1885 4 Carroll Nov. 2, 1886 Kruckeberg Sept. 5, 1893 Sweeney et al Mar. .17, 1896 Miller July 12, 1910 Viche May 11, 1915 Day Dec. 29, 1931 

